Evaporating-pan



No. 6I5,|3-l. Patented Nov. 29, I898.

C. S. BEDIANT. EVAPORATING' PAN.

(Application filed Mar. 14, 1898.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

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Patented Nov. 29, I898. C. S. BEDIANT.

EVAPURATING PAN.

(Application filed Mar. 14, 1898.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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NrTnD STATES PATENT FFIC.

CLAYTON S. BEDIANT, OF HUDSON, OHIO.

EVAPORATlNG-PAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,131, dated November 29, 1898.

Application filed March 14, 1898. Serial No. 673,843. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAYTON S. BEDIANT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hudson, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Evaporators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in evaporating-pans, and has for its object to produce an apparatus for boiling and evaporating saccharine juices, cider, jellies, and especially maplesap, to convert the same into sugar.

A further object is to make such device automatic in its operation, that it may not require constant attention.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the novel details of construction and combination of parts to be fully described in the following specification and clearly set forth in the annexed claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views, Figure l is a front elevation of my improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is avertical 1ongitudinal section. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the first pan. Fig. 5 is a vertical section thereof. Fig. 6 is arear elevation of the whole structure. Fig. '7 is an enlarged detail View of the pan-connectors, and Fig. 8 is a broken perspective view of a regulator.

1 is a furnace having fire-doors, grate-bars, and ash-pit, as usual, but provided with a prolonged fire-chamber 2, supported on its end by legs 3. The sides of the fire-chamber 2 are formed 011 their upper edges with a series of horizontal steps 2, each a few inches lower than the one preceding. No covering is employed on the fire chamber; but the pans at, 5, and 6 when in position serve to close said fire-chamber and receive the heat therefrom. These pans are so shaped that the pan 4 covers the first step and half of the second, the pan 5 covers the remainder of the second step and half of the third, and the pan 6 covers the remainder of the third step and about half of the fourth, the remainder of the fourth step being covered by the arched smoke-stack 7 and its collar 8.

The pan 6 is provided with two lateral partitions 9 and 10, which divide it into three compartments of the same size, and these communicate by openings 11, formed in the front end of partition 9 and in the rear end of partition 10. A receiving-cup 12 is formed on the rear end of the first compartment and connects therewith by means of an opening 13.

The pans 5 and 6 are divided into compartments by partitions 14 and 15, respectively, which are provided on their rear ends with openings connecting the two compartments of each pan.

Stop-cocks 16 pass through the front walls of the pans 5 and 6 near their side edges and through the front wall of pan 4 near the edge next to the pan 5. The stop-cocks of the adjoining pans are turned so that their mouths meet, and a stirrup 17 is pivoted to a rightangular lug 18 on one stop-cock of each pan and has threaded through its arch a thumbserew 19, adapted to engage a similar lug 20 on the other stop-cock and force the mouths against the sides of a rubber or leather gasket 21, located therebetween. This arrangement makes a substantial connection between the last compartment of one pan and the first compartment of the next, which can readily be disconnected by backing the thumb-screw and swinging the stirrup, so that for cleaning or the like the pans may be tipped back on their hinges 22, which join their rear bottom edges to the sides of the fire-chamber.

A rectangular cup 23 is formed on the front of each of the pans 5 and 6 and has an opening 24, connecting it with the first compartment in its pan to keep the liquid in the cup at the same level as the liquid in the pan. A rod 25 is j ournaled through lugs 26 on the upper front edge of each pan 5 and 6 and has a depending arm 27 at one end carrying a valve 28 with a cushion-pad on its face adapted to swing down over the opening in the inwardlyprojecting stem 29 of the stop-cock leading to the first compartment. A horizontal arm 30 projects outwardly from the other end of rod 25 and engages its hooked end 31 in a vertical stem 32 of a rectangular float 33, confined within the cup 23. Thus the float moving up and down by the rise and fall of the contents of the pan operates the valve to make it close and open for a purpose hereinafter described.

A damper 34 is journaled across the firechamber to regulate the draft, and an end plate 35 has its curved edge hooked over the side of pan 0 and is for the purpose of closing the opening between the pan 6 and the col.- lar 8.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have produced a series of compartments so disposed and connected that their contents will pass in a zigzag course over surfaces which become successively cooler. This course can readily be traced on Fig. 2, where the arrows show the direction of flow.

It will be noticed that the compartments of each pan have direct communication with each other, and therefore their contents will always be at the same level; but the first two compartments in pan 4 and the first compartments in pans 5 and 6 are higher than the others of their respective pans, that their contents may not be so deep as in the other compartments. This causes the sap to boilfiereely in the upper compartments and then pass into the lower ones, where the heat is not so great owing to the increased depth of the sap therein. The sap begins in its watery state and passes into pan 5 considerably thicker. Here the heat is not so great, and consequently there is less danger of scorching than there would be if the sap remained in pan 4, and the same is true of the change from pan 5 to pan 6, where the sap is much thicker, and therefore requires less heat to prevent scorching. The thickened sap may be drawn off in any of its three changed conditions by closing the stop-cocks of the connection leading from the pan containing the desired sap, backing the thumb-screw, slightly tilting the succeeding pans on their hinges, and opening the remaining stop-cock again.

The greatest trouble to contend with in processes for which this invention is designed is the difficulty of maintaining the sap at a uniform depth. If the sap gets too low, it is ruined by scorching, and if too high it foams over the sides of the vessel. My invention overcomes this difficulty perfectly, for when the contents of a pan have reached the desired depth the float 33 in the cup connected with the pan rises and closes its valve 28, thereby shutting off the inflow, and when the contents have boiled down to a depth at which there is danger of scorching the float is low enough to allow the sap from the pan above to again enter until it reaches the desired depth. The floats are so housed in the cups instead of being placed in the pans direct to protect them from the foam in the pans,which might affect their operation to an extent that would make them inaccurate. In case the contents of one of the pans should foam violently enough to overrun the same, this would be confined to the side of the pan next to the pan beneath by reason of such side being lower than the others, as seen in Fig.3. This would cause no damage,for the overflow would be caughtin the pan below. By the time the sap has reached the pan 6 it is very thick and heavy and is ready to be drawn off, which can be done by means of its lower stop-cock.

\Vith the construction herein described it is not necessary to use all three pans at one time, but if found desirable two or even one may be used by breaking the connection, as before described, and throwing the succeedin g pans back over their hinges and covering the open part of the fire-chamber by any suitable means, or the unused pans may be left in position for that purpose.

The arrangement of the pans as herein described has the effect of graduating their temperature in the order that the sap passes through them, and, furthermore, their position with relation to the fire-chamber is such that they receive the greatest available amount of heat therefrom.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In an evaporating-pan, afurnace having its fire-chamber formed in a series of steps, pans adapted to each cover a portion of two steps, partitions having openings dividing the pans into communicating compartments, stopcocks connected to each pan with their mouths in contact with the stop-cocks of the adjoining pans, stirrups pivoted to one of the stopcocks of each pair, thumb-screws threaded through the stirrups to press the mouths together, a cup formed with each pan and connected therewith, a float housed in a cup, a lever pivoted on the pan and connected at one end to the float, and a valve on the other end of the lever adapted to close the opening in the stem of the stop-cock leading to that pan, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLAYTON S. BEDTAN'J.

Witnesses:

(J. D. SARGEN'J, V. O. READ.

ICC 

